Dec092013

The ISM index increased 0.9 point to 57.3 in November. Construction spending fell 0.3% in September and increased 0.8% in October. Auto sales jumped up 7.7% in November to an annual pace of 16.41 million units. The trade deficit improved $1.2 billion (2.9%) to $40.6 billion in October. New home sales fell 6.6% in September to an annual pace of 354,000 units and jumped 25.4% in October to an annual pace of 444,000 units. The ISM services index fell 1.5 points to 53.9 in November. The economy grew at an upwardly revised annual pace of 3.6% for the third quarter of 2013. Factory orders fell 0.9% in October. The economy added 203,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in November as the unemployment rate dropped to 7.0%, from 7.3% in October. Personal income fell 0.1% in October while personal spending increased 0.3%. Consumer credit increased by $18.2 billion, or 0.6%, to $3.076 trillion in October. Initial jobless claims fell 23,000 to 298,000 for the week ended 11/30, the second lowest level of the recovery.

• The ISM index increased 0.9 point to 57.3 in November.

• Construction spending fell 0.3% in September and increased 0.8% in October.

• Auto sales jumped up 7.7% in November to an annual pace of 16.41 million units. Sales were up 7.1% from a year ago.

• New home sales fell 6.6% in September to an annual pace of 354,000 units and jumped 25.4% in October to an annual pace of 444,000 units.

• The ISM services index fell 1.5 points to 53.9 in November.

• The economy grew at an upwardly revised annual pace of 3.6% for the third quarter of 2013. The revision was not necessarily a good sign as it reflected underlying upward revisions to inventory growth.

• Factory orders fell 0.9% in October.

• The economy added 203,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in November as the unemployment rate dropped to 7.0%, from 7.3% in October. According to the household survey, the labor force participation rate remained little changed at 63.0% and the employment-to-population ratio increased 0.3 percentage point to 58.6%. According to the establishment survey, private payrolls increased 196,000, and total nonfarm payroll growth averaged 195,000 over the prior 12 months.

• Personal income fell 0.1% in October while personal spending increased 0.3%. The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index was unchanged (core PCE up 0.1%), and up 0.7% (core PCE up 1.1%) over the year.